A day in the life of Luisa Sanders, Social Media Manager at Aardman

Luisa Sanders, Social Media Manager at Aardman, describes a typical day in the life at the company.

What’s your full name, and title?

Luisa Sanders, Senior Social Media Manager

Tell us a bit about your role and how you got here?

I look after Aardman’s character brands across various social media platforms, helping us to promote all our brilliant film and TV releases, as well as events, attractions and products, to fans all over the world. I first came to Aardman on a five-week freelance contract, having worked in digital jobs across a variety of industries previously, from gaming to publishing. As social media has exploded and new platforms have emerged, it’s become a key communication channel for Aardman and I’ve now been with the company for 12 years, working across some of the studio’s biggest film releases, including Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget and Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

I would like to continue working in a values-led organisation; that might be Aardman, of course, or I would love to work for an organisation that promotes social mobility for young people, helping them to access creative careers. As a parent to two teenage sons, I’m acutely aware of the challenges faced by young people today, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds. I’d also quite like to be a yoga teacher as I’ve been practising yoga for almost 20 years now and it has helped me find balance and calm in both my personal and work life!

What does a typical day look like for you?

I start my day catching up on the global news and checking over our social feeds to see what’s going on in the world, what topics are trending and what our fans are chatting about. We have fans from right across the globe, so it’s important to tune into what’s important and relevant to them. My day usually features a few meetings, which might involve a call with broadcast partners such as the BBC or Netflix to discuss social strategy for a new film release, or I might be presenting the results of a social campaign to the wider marketing department. I check into my content calendar to ensure all my upcoming posts are scheduled and spend some time checking our accounts for new DMS and comments to reply to. My job is focused on building communities and sharing a dialogue with fans, so I spend a lot of time replying to fans or asking for their thoughts on all the different things we’ve been up to. It’s also vital to keep up with current trends and platform changes so my day usually involves a bit of research and competitor analysis too.

What part of your role do you enjoy the most?

I have a background in copywriting and I love using social media to tell stories; storytelling is at the heart of what we do at Aardman and we work hard to ensure our socials really delight and engage fans, make them feel part of our family and inspire them to be creative too. The world of social media can be problematic, so I love the fact that I get to share messages of positivity that bring a little bit of joy into people’s daily lives.

Which top three skills are vital for this role and why?

You need good organisational skills and the ability to juggle multiple tasks at once, as well as jump on things quickly as social media moves so fast!

Being creative is key as social feeds need updating with fresh ideas all the time. You need to have a flair for communication and the ability to hook audiences in and grab their attention as people are bombarded with so much information at any one time.

Finally, you need to enjoy and engage with social media yourself, keeping ahead of the latest trends, developments and new platforms. An interest in the wider technology landscape – AI is a good example – is also crucial, as these have such an impact on how people use and interact with social media.

What’s the most challenging aspect of your role?

It’s a hugely busy role as I manage a number of different accounts, so switching from one to the other can be a challenge sometimes, as different brands and different platforms call for a different approach and way of communicating. And because social media is always ‘on’ there can be an expectation for social media managers to always be on too, and it can be hard to switch off and not find yourself working outside of standard hours. Keeping a good work-life balance is crucial for people working in social media, as it can be exhausting!

How do you help others feel like they belong in your team/promote inclusion?

Aardman is very much a values led organisation and is employee owned, meaning all staff – or Partners – have a voice. Alongside my day job, I’m also the Chair of our Partner Rep Group, and I’m passionate about helping our reps enable a workplace that is equitable and inclusive for all. I’m also involved in our ED&I taskforce and have led on a number or internal and external campaigns to promote inclusion, including social campaigns around Autism Acceptance and Pride, and am a very vocal anti-ageism advocate, having led on an internal comms campaign to share information on ageism with our partners.

Which podcast/Youtube series would you recommend to someone interested in pursuing a career in this area to help develop their skills/prepare them for the role?

I don’t have a specific careers-based recommendation but I love the How to Fail podcast, as this shares some inspiring stories from celebrities and famous faces who have learned the most during their careers from the failures they’ve encountered. It’s a great reminder that in both our professional and personal lives, success can’t come without a few failures to learn from, and that being resilient in the face of life’s many curveballs is what shapes and makes us.